Back Story, Durham, UK:
Full Quote:
"Blundering burglar falls from ceiling five times while fleeing break-in
Police show Andrew Pickering footage of his own botched getaway from petrol station15 January 2026 7:21am GMT
A burglar fell five times from a ceiling while trying to flee a raid.
Andrew Pickering, 50, repeatedly crashed to the ground as the ladders gave way from under him during a break-in at a petrol station in Ouston, Co Durham.
Durham Constabulary said the criminal, from Marx Crescent in Stanley, was jailed for 12 months at Newton Aycliffe magistrates’ court last week.
The force published clips of the ham-fisted attempts to escape in a video shared on its Facebook page, backed by Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube waltz.
The video also shows detectives interviewing Pickering and his reaction as he is played the footage of himself repeatedly crashing to the floor.
At one point, Pickering knocked over his cup while being interviewed, leading one Facebook user to comment: “Bit clumsy, isn’t he?”
Pickering was identified from CCTV footage and from blood left at the scene.
The break-in happened in the early hours of Oct 21 when he got in through the roof, dropped down into the store and ransacked the shop, causing damage and losses of £3,219.
Trying to get back through the roof, Pickering failed repeatedly before locating a side door through which Daniel Reay, his 46-year-old accomplice of no fixed abode, joined him.
Reay was arrested soon after and a black Ford Focus containing stolen goods was recovered.
He was also charged with burglary and was handed a community order requiring him to complete alcohol treatment and rehabilitation activity."
